Waiting In The Rain
by Twilight Joltik
Summary: Lucas is supposed to be coming, Marth heard Roy would be there, and Shulk made Megaman come without saying why. So, why is it that these newcomers are several hours late, leaving their friends to wait for them in the pouring rain? Three-shot to celebrate the new DLC characters. Current story- Ike fears Roy will replace him as Marth's best friend, but this fear is unfounded.
1. Bittersweet Return

_**AN- Well, it seems like Roy and Ryu got released a bit earlier than expected. Therefore, this wonderful day must be written about. Well, I can't be rude, it's Lucas's day too, and it was his first, so I'll write the story of his return first, then Roy's tomorrow and Ryu's the next day. I shall name this collection of those stories after the catchiest song I know, and because of the ridiculous amount of service**_ _ **traffic making it take three hours to get them, it's only fair to make the characters wait for an absurdly long amount of time as well. So, only my ideas are mine, thank you and enjoy! –Twilight Joltik**_

* * *

 _Waiting In The Rain_

 _Story One- Bittersweet Return_

Lucas was finally supposed to return to Smash that day. In fact, he should have been there hours ago, but it seemed something was holding him up. He'd sent word he'd return on April Fool's Day, so had it all turned out to be some sick prank after all? Ness prayed it wasn't, but considering how many people had turned up for the event, he suspected there was something else at play, something he didn't know about. Had Roy sent word of his return as well? Why else would Marth and Ike and so many others that weren't close at all to, or had never even met Lucas be there?

Why Megaman was there, however, he couldn't quite figure out. Since he was friends with the root, it would have been easy to assume he told him about Lucas and asked him to meet him there, but he hadn't even spoken to him about it, let alone asked him to come. From what it looked like, Shulk had awusked him to come, but even that was confusing, as the only reason he could come up with for the seer even being there in the first place was that he had a vision of someone coming that he wanted to see. But who would both him and Megaman want to see, he wondered.

Whoever it was that was coming, they'd better hurry up, thought the young psychic, because the sky was starting to spit out small droplets of liquid, growing bigger and thicker by the second. Even in such warm weather, the water was unpleasantly chilling. The bus stop they were sitting at lacked any sort of covering, and only Shulk, fittingly enough, had the foresight to bring an umbrella, though it seemed more for the robot's sake than his own. Beside Ness, Pikachu was shivering and burrowing into his shirt, and Toon Link had pulled out a leaf of some sort from his endless pockets that was barely covering his head. He could hear someone singing an odd tune with lyrics too faint to make out, but he couldn't quite tell where it was coming from- or at least, not until Lucina jabbed Robin in the stomach suddenly and it quickly stopped.

After what felt like a soaking-wet eternity, in the distance, Ness heard faint sounds of an approaching vehicle, followed by the faint glow of headlights. His heart began to beat unexpectedly fast. After months of half-formed loneliness and hours of waiting for an uncertain promise, Lucas was seconds away from him. The oncoming bus screeched to a halt in front of their stop, and time seemed to stop as everyone waited for the doors to open.

To his slight disappointment, Lucas wasn't the first to get off. Rather, a red-haired young man Ness hadn't seen in years stepped gracefully off and looked around for a moment with bewildered eyes. Memories flooded back to the psychic, and a smile spread across his face as Marth quickly embraced his long-vanished friend.

The one Ness had wanted to see was the next off the bus. Lucas hesitated for a moment, but the second his eyes met Ness's, he assumed a smile as bright as the obscured sun. Toon Link, Pikachu, and himself all lunged to hug their friend simultaneously, their collective laughter banishing the months that preceded this reunion far away.

"It's great to see you all again!", Lucas exclaimed as the group hug dissolved, wiping either rain or tears out of his eyes. "I-I'm sorry I couldn't have come earlier, they just told me to wait until everyone else was ready to come, and I really tried to get them to let me come with Mewtwo, I swear, but-"

With a mocking grin, Toon playfully jabbed Lucas's shoulder. "Shut up, Lu', s'not like- wait everyone else? So, Roy and-"

That odd word choice was quickly explained as a man who looked even stronger than Ike, clad in a similar headband and a white gi stepped out of the bus, carrying what looked to be the entirety of everyone who had arrived's luggage. He looked very familiar, but Ness couldn't place him until Megaman stepped forth, grinning as madly as he possibly could. "Ryu!", he exclaimed. "What- why are you here?"

Ryu- he was from Street Fighter, wasn't he?- gave the young robot a smile. "Nice to see you, kid. How've things been here?"

As the two began to converse happily, Shulk gave a nod and started towards the Smash Mansion in the distance with a grin. "C'mon," the seer called back. "We'd better be headed back, don't you think?"

Lucas looked ahead with a distant look in his eyes. "Yeah, we should probably head home." An odd grin came with the last word.

There were so many things to say to Lucas that Ness couldn't think of a single thing better than. "Uh, so, how's, er, things?"

"They're… fine," replied Lucas with equal awkwardness. "Well, now they are, at least. Just had some, um, business back home to deal with, but everything's fine now." The words sounded like a forced lie, but Ness didn't want to inquire into it any further. Today was supposed to be happy, and it would be cruel to ruin that now that his best friend was finally back. "How's everyone here? Was it just too early for Red to drag himself out of bed to greet me?", he questioned with a chuckle.

Toon gave him an odd look, saying "Do you want to tell him or me?" quite clearly with his raised eyebrow. He replied with a shake of the head, trying to respond with "Stop, I'll do it."

"Uh, well," he turned to Lucas, his throat feeling as if it was coated in lead. "Actually, Red's… not here…"

Shock and despair ruined his friend's grin. He looked down sadly. "O-oh…" he muttered. Meeting Ness's eyes, he seemed to read that Red's absence wasn't the only bad news they had for him. "Who else?"

"Nana and Popo," Toon replied. "They 'ad some sorta argument over somethin' in the new tournament with Master Hand an' either left or got kicked out. Dunno what it was, but they didn't even say 'bye'."

"I'm not sure why Red left, either," Ness continued. "Just one day, not too long after you went, he just up and left. He didn't even bring Charizard with him."

Ness wished instantly he'd made up something to soften the blow, as Lucas looked near tears. "Darn it!", he cried. "I wanted to show him how strong I'd gotten!"

They walked on in silence, only broken by Pikachu's soft calls as he rubbed up against Lucas. "But hey, at least Wario's still 'ere!", Toon Link suddenly blurted out, seemingly in an attempt to cheer him up. "You can at least show him yer not still that little kid from the zoo, right?"

That didn't seem to help at all, as Lucas suddenly became focused on a can someone had carelessly left on the ground and kicked it. Desperately, Ness searched for something that might make this reunion a bit less mournful. "I can't wait for you to meet everyone new here!", Ness blurted out. Lucas cast him a sideways look, seeming to give this method attention. "I mean, there's Shulk- he's the one with the cool sword- and he's really smart and stuff, you'll like him, and Megaman, the robot one. I know you don't like machines, but he's great, I swear! And the Villager, and Greninja, and the Koopalings, I just know you'll like everyone!"

A slight smile returned to Lucas's face. "I'm sure I will," he asserted softly.

With a sudden burst forward, Toon shouted "Race ya'll home!", and left them in the dust.

"C'mon, that's not fair!", Ness cried as he sped up to follow his friend, and distantly, he could hear Lucas give a bright laugh as Pikachu sped past the both of them with Quick Attack.

But unexpectedly, not a second before they'd hit the familiar paved path up to the front door of the manor, Lucas turned to him with an oddly playful grin. "Oh, Ness, forgot to tell you," he called. "Ninten told me to tell you to call him. He has something to tell you, I think."

"What?"

"Oh, just something about coming state-side, I think, probably nothing important."

That made Lucas get third place in their race, at very least, leaving Ness both in last place and shouting to the sobbing skies "Ha! Yes! Finally!" over and over again, punctuated by laughter.

* * *

 _ **AN- Lucas and Roy have returned to Smash. And Mother One, or rather Earthbound Beginnings is coming to the US. This is a world where there is nothing wrong. Roy's story tomorrow, from Ike's POV. So, thanks for reading –Twilight Joltik**_


	2. Unknown Replacement

_Waiting In The Rain_

 _Story Two- Unknown Replacement_

The dark sky spilled all over the empty road in front of the bus stop. It seemed the day his best friend had prayed for was only seconds away at any given time, even if it should have arrived several hours ago.

It just so happened that this was a day Ike had been dreading for a very long time. Roy, he held the title of Marth's closest friend long before he did, and if they were both there, well, Ike knew he could never compete with his predecessor.

Marth, who was standing anxiously beside him, seemed completely unaware of Ike's selfish misgivings, thankfully. Ever since he'd heard Roy would be returning, he'd bore a huge grin without stop. Ike could sincerely say he'd never seen him that happy, which somehow made him bitter with the thought that he was unable to make him smile like that.

Dear Yune, he was being petty about this. Friends were supposed to always be happy for their friend's happiness, no matter what, right? So, he was really just proving his own point the more he resented Roy and how happy he could make Marth. If he couldn't put aside his own worries and just be happy that the person he'd fought beside for so long was happy, then what kind of friend was he?

Biting the inside of his lip, he waited impatiently for the bus to arrive, rain pounding down on their group. Robin gave a small chuckle and began singing something about waiting on the bus in the rain, which Ike had no clue why it made Shulk smile like it did, but he supposed that they were all very bored by then, and any entertainment was welcome. However, said entertainment was brief, as Lucina silenced the tactician with a swift jab to the stomach.

Time seemed to pass like molasses, asking Ike to savor every last second of his status as Marth's best friend before the one it rightfully belonged to reclaimed it for good. But he couldn't talk to him. He couldn't even try, because any time he opened his mouth, it was something about Roy and how excited he was for them to all meet him. Second best to Roy even before he arrived, and no matter how much Marth acted like they'd all be best friends, Ike knew the only thing that Roy would ever be towards him was bitter. After all, a cheap replacement would never be liked by the original.

Faintly, he began to hear something approaching them. The odd groaning of the bus and its bright lights grew closer and closer, until it was staring him right in the face. As it suddenly halted and its doors whirred open, a vaguely familiar figure emerged, one Ike had only ever seen in photographs. He looked older than he had in those portraits, and looked around at them in bewilderment. He didn't believe he had returned any more than the eyes fixated on him did.

After what seemed like an eternity, Marth rushed towards the red-haired boy and flung himself upon him. Given how adverse to physical contact the prince usually was, seeing Marth hug someone was an odd sight, but despite Ike's dread, it still made him smile. If nothing else, at least someone was happy about this.

Lucas emerged next, and Ike would be lying if he said he wasn't glad to see the young psychic. The poor kid had left so suddenly, something must have been wrong at home or something, but the joy on his face suggested whatever it had been had passed. However, he couldn't bring himself to tear his attention away from Marth and Roy long enough to even greet him.

"I-I can't believe you're actually here!", cried Marth, wiping away a tear. "I just- I'm so happy to finally see you again! You've gotten taller, haven't you?"

Roy gave a bright laugh, making it a bit difficult for Ike to think of him as an enemy. He supposed, though, he'd never been anything close to that. "I guess I have," replied his replacement. "You look different too, but I can't place how or why."

"Whatever it is, it doesn't matter, not anymore. You're here now, and I can finally fight alongside all the people I care most about," Marth said somewhere between a laugh and a sob, stressing the "all" part a rather lot.

Someone else emerged from the bus before it drove off, but Ike only vaguely registered his presence. He couldn't recognize the man at all, though he somehow made him a bit uneasy. Even still, he zoned out of whatever was happening with him before he could even catch the man's name. It was far too interesting seeing the person who'd stood beside him since he arrived there himself ages ago drifting away to look away, after all.

After a moment, someone loudly told them that they should be headed back, giving Ike a chance to focus on something other than his own selfish misgivings. Roy, however, seemed to take the initiative to make this nigh-impossible by deciding to try to introduce himself. "You're Ike, right?"

Casting a sideways look as he walked alongside the red-haired swordsman, he nodded. "Yeah. So?"

Roy looked a bit confused for a moment before continuing. "It's great to finally meet you! Marth's told me all about you!"

It was his turn to be confused. "He told you about me?", he questioned. Marth was just seeing him for the first time in several years, right? So how had he already told him anything? "When?"

"In his letters," explained Roy. "Always had something nice to say about you and what a good friend you were. Honestly, I've got to thank you for that. Marth hardly talked to anyone other than me back in Melee, so I was a bit worried about him when I had to leave. I'm glad he-"

"So you don't hate me?" Ike let the question slip out of his brain and into his mouth by accident.

The redhead gave a small chuckle. "Of course I don't! Why would I hate you, I barely know you?"

An obvious answer to him, but not at all to Roy? Was his resentment really not shared in the least? "Because I replaced you as Marth's friend?"

"People can have more than one friend, you know," Roy flatly stated. "Even Marth, as impossible as it might sound." An awkward pause in which neither of them could find their words followed, but Roy finally managed to come up with something. "Did you really not know we kept in touch?"

"No, he never mentioned it."

Another voice suddenly entered their conversation. "I suppose I didn't," Marth remarked, almost apologetically. "I just thought you would have figured it out, considering how many letters I write."

Vague memories of letters sealed with the same crest on Marth's cape surfaced. "Oh, yeah. I think I just figured you were writing someone back home or something."

"That… seems reasonable." Marth almost sounded guilty as he said it, like he was slowly realizing that he'd messed up. "I had no idea you thought I only saw you as Roy's replacement."

"Never even crossed your mind?" Somehow, Ike found that hard to believe. For Ashera's sake, he had the same locker number as Roy, what else could Ike have been?

The prince gave a deep sigh. "Ike, I knew you were coming before Roy even received word he was needed in Pherae! You weren't Roy's replacement, that was just how things worked out. Roy even agreed to you sharing our room whenever you arrived."

Years of a creeping feeling that he was completely unneeded except as a proxy for someone who was absent were blown to pieces. "You know, it would have been nice to know that a few years ago," he muttered.

"Well, it's behind us now," Roy declared cheerily. "Can we just put this behind us and be friends?"

Ike was about to shake his hand, but was interrupted by Lucina. "Um, Lord Roy?", she hesitantly began. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you, but I-"

"Don't tell me," Roy smiled slightly as he met eyes with Marth's descendant. "Lucina, right? Marth told me a lot about you." Extending his hand, he said "It's nice to meet you!"

Lucina's cheeks burned crimson as she shook it. "Nice to meet you as well."

Shulk was now walking alongside them as well. "You're Roy, right? Wow, Pit's going to be excited to meet you, I bet. I've heard a lot about you from Rob-"

"So if she's Lucina, that would make you Robin, right?" Roy extended his hand to the annoyed-looking seer.

"No, actually, I'm Shulk." With an embarrassed cry, Roy looked away in an instant. Despite any animosity he might have had for him being gone, Ike still found his distress rather hilarious. "Robin's over there, if you want to meet him."

Robin, who was a good few paces in front of them, turned back and called "Nah, I'll leave you guys to it. The missus and the ex; I'd much rather watch this than get involved."

It took a good ten seconds before anyone realized what exactly Robin had said. And then, all at once, it seemed realization hit them. Marth turned bright red, Roy groaned, Lucina cried "Robin, you can't make fun of the Hero King!", and Shulk simply laughed his head off. Ike, however, found that was a rather fitting analogy, right up until he realized why everyone else was reacting so violently to it.

* * *

 _ **AN- Did it feel corny and melodramatic? Sure, but it was inevitable that such a thing would be written, and I might as well do it while I have the chance. I just wanted to see how Ike would react to meeting the person he replaced, that's all. In my defense, I meant for it to be pretty clear Ike's fears were a bit overblown and unfounded. It felt like a bad IkexMarth fic in places, though; a bit more than I intended, even, but it can be interpreted however you like. Robin, however, is a troll and also a complete dork, hence why he makes stupid reference jokes that only Shulk finds funny. Now if only I'd put Dark Pit in here, then I would have represented all of my OTPs. Ryu's arrival story tomorrow, with a focus on friendship between Megaman and Shulk because I know nothing of Street Fighter. So, thanks for reading! –Twilight Joltik**_


End file.
